Rory Potter, the Girl Who Lived

Buckbeak the Hippogriff

          The next morning, I skip breakfast to study, then head down Care of Magical Creatures class alone.
         I wait with Hagrid in silence for the rest of the class to show up. When they do, he leads us to a large sort of paddock. Its empty.
          "All righ', gather round!" Hagrid calls. We all step up to lean on the sturdy wooden fence. "Now, open yer books ter page - "
          "How?" Draco asks.
          "Er . . . how?" Hagrid echoes in confusion.
          "How do we open then?" Seamus Finigan chimes in, holding up his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters, which is tied shut with a rope.
          We all dig out our books, which are clamped shut with a wide array of things: from belts to scarves to binder clips. Hagrid looks shocked.
          "Well, you've got to tickle the spine, o' course!" he says happily.
          We all tickle the spines of our books, which stop growling and start to purr, then go limp in our hands. I remove the scarf and shove it into my bag, ignoring my intense hunger and trying to concentrate on the lesson.
          "I'm gonna go over there, guys. I'll be able to see better because I'm short," I whisper to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They nod and I head over to the other side of the student body, which is unfortunately near a small huddle of Slytherins, including Draco Malfoy, who is holding an apple.
          "All righ' so yeh've got yer books, so now yeh'll be needin' the magical creates. I'll go an' get 'em," Hagrid says, and he strides off. The class falls into loud chatter, staring at the space where Hagrid disappeared in anticipation.
          All of a sudden, my visions swims. I grip the paddock fence hard, my knuckles turning white. For a moment, I think I've lost my glasses, but they're still on my face. My head feels very light, and I can't tell if its me that's swaying or the ground.
          Then, someone's arm wraps firmly around my waist, supporting me gently. A scent of mint reaches my nose, and the voice of Draco whispers in my ear, "Are you okay, Rory? I notice you'd skipped lunch and dinner yesterday, and then breakfast this morning. You shouldn't do that. If you don't mind, you can have my apple. I've only taken a bite and you can eat the other side."
          I raise my green eyes to meet his blue ones, and accept the green apple he hands to me. I feel a light blush creep out on my cheeks, and a small, timid smile split my face. Oh my Merlin. I think I fancy Draco Malfoy.
         "Thank you, Draco," I whisper back, then take a small bite of the apple. Then, I gather my courage and say softly, "You know, your really more kind than people think. To me at least. Don't think I haven't noticed the little things you've done for me over the years. Thank you."
          "So are we friends now?" he asks me, glancing at me sideways.
          "Friends," I tell him, smiling shyly and nodding.
~Draco's Perspective~
          "Friends," she says, smiling and nodding shyly.
          I glance around, but no one seems to notice that I still have my arm around Rory's waist. Not even Rory, for that matter. Everyone is waiting with baited breath for Hagrid to return, and Rory is munching on the apple.
          At that moment, Hagrid appears. And behind him walk about twenty or so magical beasts, which Rory instantly recognizes.
          "Hippogriffs!" she squeals through a mouthful of apple.
          The hippogriffs have the hind legs, body, and tail of a horse, but the front legs, wings, chest, and head of an eagle. Each is a different yet equally beautiful colour, but for some reason, I can't keep my eyes on the beasts. They keep darting to Rory, who looks so happy, I'd think Christmas had come early.
          "Now, the firs' thing yeh need ter know about hippogriffs is they're very proud creatures," Hagrid says. "Easily offended, they are. And never, never insult them; it migh' be the las' thing yeh do."
          "Now, what yeh do, is yeh walk toward 'em an' yeh bow. Then yeh wait for them to bow back before yeh move any closer to touch 'em. But if he doesn't bow, yeh better her outta the way quick, 'cause those talons hurt. Now, who wants to go firs'?"
          After a moment, Rory's brother volunteers. Rory cheers for him, along with Granger and Weasley. Potter hops over the fence and carefully approaches the first beast. And on Hagrid's instruction, he bows. There's a long pause in which everyone starts to panic, thinking the hippogriff, which Hagrid calls Buckbeak, won't bow back. Rory grabs onto my arm, a hand pressed over her mouth.
          And the hippogriff bows. Rory let's go of my arm and hisses a sigh of relief. Potter slowly steps forward and reaches out a tentive hand to touch Buckbeak. The hippogriff nuzzles into his hand.
             "Yeh know, Harry, I reckon he'd let yeh ride him!" Hagrid says.
          "Oh, no Hagrid, I'm good - " Potter starts to protest, but Hagrid picks him up and sets him on Buckbeak's back.
          "Carefully now, don't pull out any feathers! Now go!" Hagrid yells, slapping the beasts leg.
          The hippogriff spreads its great auburn wings and shoots into the sky. A loud cheer erupts from the Gryffindors, and Rory is jumping up and down, looking absolutely ecstatic. The hippogriff circles around the paddock a few times, then lands gracefully back where it started.
          Potter gets shakily down from the beast and walks over to the fence. Rory throws her arms around her twin, beaming.
          "Righ' now, a pair to ter each hippogriff, then. Be careful, an' don' insult them!"
          I end up at Buckbeak with Rory, who is practically glowing with excitement. She walks up to the hippogriff and bows. I wait in anguish for the beast to bow back, which it immediately does. Rory steps up to it, smiling. She gently touches its head.
          "They're beautiful, aren't they?" she says, turning shining green eyes to look at me and motioning for me to come forwards.
         I walk up and bow. A moment later, the hippogriff bows back. I tale a few steps closer. And I have no clue what got into me, but I say, "You're not so bad are you, you great ugly brute?"
          "DRACO, NO!" Rory screams, throwing herself forward.
          The hippogriff lashes out with its talons, and I feel a sharp, burning pain flood my arm. Rory screams, and I fall onto the ground. Screams and yells echo up from the class, and I hear another loud moan from Rory, but I can't see her.
          "I'm dying! I'm dying! Look, its killed me!" I moan.
          But what I don't see is Rory lying on the ground not a foot away, fractically pressing her Gryffindor robes to a giant gash on the left side of her stomach. I don't see the rapidly growing puddle of blood that stains her skin and clothing, how her skin has gone very pale.
          What I do see is Hagrid sprint over and pick me up. What I do see is Hagrid running towards the castle, cursing under his breath. What I do see is the cut on my arm bleeding lightly.
          But I don't see Rory.
​​​~Rory's Perspective~
          I see a flash of talons. I hear a scream, my own scream. Blood, and pain. My memory preserves that few seconds in a series of emotions, sounds, and snapshot pictures.
          Draco falls to the ground a foot away, moaning that he's dying. But I looks down to see a huge gash on the left side of my stomach that spills blood, and think I might actually be dying.
          Hagrid lifts Draco up and sprints off, but its Hermione that yanks me to my feet by my right arm and supports my body with her own. She pulls me frantically towards the castle, pressing her robes against the wound. As I walk, my feet start to grow heavy and my vision blurs.
          "What in the name of Merlin were you thinking, Rory?!" she demands shrilly, her high panicked voice echoing in my brain. "Throwing yourself in front of that git!"
          I remain silent, but feel a small blush creep up my face despite my major loss of blood. And Hermione, smart as always, figures it out right then and there. She stops dead and looks me in the eye, shocked to the core.
          "You fancy him," she whispers. "You fancy him even though you're dating Fred. And you don't fancy Fred, you never did."
          I nod, not sure if I'm able to talk right now. She blinks in understanding, and her mouth twitches into a small smile.
          "I knew it. I totally knew it. This just confirmed it!" Hermione says.
          "So you're not gonna . . . stop being friends with me?" I manage to force out through teeth gritted in pain.
          "Of course not! I never would stop being friends with you, Rory. Your brother and Ron will be harder to convince, however."
          I nod and take another step forward, which was a bad idea. An intense burning pain floods my body, and my muscles clench, which also was a bad idea, because it just makes me bleed harder.
          I let out a scream and sway, falling onto my knees. Hermione runs over and puts pressure on my gash, screaming, "HAGRID! HAGRID! COME BACK! ITS RORY!!"
​​​​​​~Draco's Perspective~
          I hear a scream that, with a pang of terror, I recognize as Rory's. And then Granger starts to shriek, "HAGRID! HAGRID! COME BACK! ITS RORY!!"
          Hagrid stops and turns around, then starts to run back to where Rory is on her knees, doubled over with both hands pressed tightly to her stomach. And that's when I realize how badly she got hurt throwing herself in front of me. She's literally covered in blood from a long, deep gash visible through her uniform.
          As soon as we reach her, I begin to struggle violently, but being cautious of the smaller gash on my own arm.
          "Put me down, Hagrid! Put me down now, you great oaf!" I grunt.
          "What happened to the whole dyin' act, Malfoy?" Hagrid says skeptically, but he sets me on my feet anyhow.
         I sprint the last few steps to Rory and drop to my knees next to her. With my one good arm, I grab her own arm and look into her green eyes, which struggle to focus onto my face.
          "What's goin' on here?" Hagrid demands.
          "Enough, can't you see she's losing blood! We've got to get her to the hospital wing, now!" I snap.
          Granger suddenly gasps, clapping a hand to her mouth and pointing the other one at me in shock.
          "You fancy her!" she gasps.
          "Yes, Granger, I fancy her," I say irritably. "But if we don't get her to the hospital wing fast, there might not be any more her left to fancy!"
          "I knew it!" Granger whispers under her breath, but all my attention is on Rory.
          "Rory, look at me. Stay awake, Rory, please. You have to, please. Look at me, darling. Stay with me," I beg her.
          And her eyes lift to mine, glassy and dazed, but looking at me nonetheless. She reaches out a hand and grabs onto my shoulder.
          "Draco . . . " she whispers.
         Then she slumps sideways into the grass, her eyes lolling shut.